Two Latino men are suing a Texas police department they say locked them in jail for 39 days “with no charges, no hearing, and no probable cause” after a March 2011 traffic stop. They also claim cops seized $14,000 in cash they had saved to buy a car.

Roberto Moreno-Gutierrez and Jaime Moreno-Gutierrez are suing
Hill County, the Hill County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas
Department of Public Safety in federal court.

Their complaint states that the two men were en route from their
home in Killeen, Texas to a car dealership in Plano, Texas to
purchase a used hybrid electric car, AlterNet reports.

At that point they were pulled over and detained by Texas State
Trooper Carl. R. Clary, who was driving with a K-9 unit. Troop
Clary was not, however, identified as a party to the complaint that
has been filed since

“The trooper provided no traffic violation or reason for the
stop to the plaintiffs,” the complaint states. “The trooper
requested driver licenses from both plaintiffs, which he then took
to his patrol unit. Upon returning, he requested to search the
vehicle. Consent was given, and he then brought out his dog. After
a search, the dog was put in its kennel. No drugs or drug
paraphernalia were found in the vehicle or on the
plaintiffs."

“The officer used a translator apparatus to translate his
questions but did not translate the Spanish responses into
English,” the suit continues. “He inquired as to the money
and the plaintiffs explained where it came from and why they had
legal possession."

“There was simply no indication of wrongdoing. Nevertheless,
Trooper Clary seized the money and waited for backup. After 20
minutes, the plaintiffs were taken to another squad car and were
told they were going to be interviewed where it was quiet. Even
though there was no sign from the K-9 and, therefore, no probable
cause, the arriving officers tore apart the vehicle for money or
drugs that did not exist.”

It was at that point, the complaint alleges, that the two men
were placed in the back of a police car and taken to the Hill
County Sheriff Department Jail, located between Waco and Dallas.
They claim the Texas Department of Public Safety officer failed to
file a probable cause affidavit or to read them their
rights.

“At the Hill County Sheriff Department, the plaintiffs were
never handcuffed, never Mirandized and never told they were under
arrest; rather, they were asked when they were from. The money was
counted, and they were then booked into Hill County Jail for what
jail documents call pending charges pursuant to ‘money
laundering,’” the complaint reads, as posted by Courthouse
News.

The plaintiffs, who were held in the jail for more than a month
without a hearing or any finalized charges, are seeking damages for
civil rights violations, false imprisonment, negligence,
intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent
supervision, training and retention.

It's not the first time in 2013 Texas cops have come under
scrutiny for their practices at the jailhouse. Earlier this year, a
Texas mother sued members of the Hays County Sheriff’s Department
for failing to prevent her son from committing suicide while he was
behind bars. The American Statesman reported that Eric Dykes hung
himself in jail after only sporadically receiving medication for
his bipolar disorder, the lawsuit claimed.